Just today, a poster on Paris by Mouth wanted to know where to go in Paris for adventuresome food.
First off, I'd guess that the term "adventuresome food," is a very subjective one. I'll bet mine and other bloggers' list of such would be quite different.
For instance, I would consider all places Inaki Aizpitarte has touched, from La Famille to MacVal to Chateaubriand and Le Dauphin, to be adventuresome. But I think such adventures come with a risk, to wit, he often misses the mark and dishes are over the top or off the edge.
On the other hand guys like David Toutain at his eponymous restaurant, Daniel Rose at Spring, William Ledeuil at Ze Kitchen Galerie, Gilles Choukroun at MBC and Franck Enee (at Franck Enee) combine ingredients in clever ways that are often quite thrilling.
Then there are the places where it seems like the chefs are coming up with twists on familiar foods that make you snap back - some such as at Pirouette, Clandestino, Neva and Le Pario were born and began in other countries and although they don't impose their native cuisines on French dishes, clearly tweak them in those directions.
And then there are the French guys, who just have a knack for surprises - of which the primary example is MaSa (which means Manipulateur de Saveurs) but includes places like Les Saisons, Le Sergent Recruteur, Terroir Parisien Bourse, Pierre Sang Boyer of Oberkampf and Le 122.
And finally, we've got the cuisine cooked up by the wonderful recent influx of Japanese chefs cooking French food. These guys just keep coming and surprising: at Les Enfants Rouges, Aki, Abri, H. Kitchen, Sot l'y laisse, Vivant and L'Office to name but a few most recent ones.
So if you're looking for adventure, you'll find it in Paris.
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